In many industrial activities, such as the production of oil and gas from underground reservoirs, fluids flow through pipes to and from reservoirs. It is sometimes desirable to characterize such fluids in a minimally invasive manner. For example, characterizing a multiphase fluid (e.g., two phase fluid) flowing through a pipe to determine/estimate the quality (i.e., vapor mass fraction) and/or flow rate of fluid may be desirable. One manner of investigating and characterization of a multiphase stream involves acoustics, or sound waves. For example, the technique of swept-frequency acoustic interferometry (SFAI) can be used to characterize a multiphase fluid. By generating sound waves of different frequencies (i.e., sweeping the frequency) that are introduced into the fluid carrying pipe one at a time, the characteristics of the multiphase fluid may be determined/estimated.
In some applications, the multiphase fluid flowing through a pipe may be under relatively high pressure and/or high temperature. For example, the fluid flowing through a pipe may be partially liquid and partially vapor (e.g., liquid water and steam). Thus, a fluid characterization device, system, and process that can be used in acoustic characterization of a fluid that is under relatively high pressure and/or high temperature may be desirable.